Neighbours join ‘Section 21’ appeal at housing association’s offices

NEIGHBOURS of a King’s Cross man facing eviction supported him at the offices of the housing association which has told him he must go.

Private tenant Daniel Cotfas, 32, lives with his girlfriend in one of three properties in Frederick Street which have been given “Section 21” eviction notices by landlord One Housing. A letter from residents in the street handed in at One Housing’s Chalk Farm Road office on Monday asks them to stop using the eviction notices in the area.

One Housing say they rented out some properties in the street at market rent, to cross-fund the refurbishment of all Frederick Street properties. The homes will be returned back to social use. They say the three homes were served with the “Section 21” notices to coincide with the end of a one-year fixed tenancy.

Mr Coftas, a PhD student, said he supports new social homes but felt “knocked around and disposable” after receiving the notice in April. He added: “Our aim today was to ask our landlord to do the right thing, and to act according to their responsibilities to house people rather than evict them.”

One Housing commercial director Robert Marcantoni, who met with residents on Monday, said in a statement: “Dan is a tenant who rented a home on the open market via One Housing’s private lettings portfolio. The income from this small portfolio provides cross subsidy for our social purpose.”

He added: “A decision has been made to bring this property into social use, so notice was served. When the property is empty we will rent it to a family in Camden who are in housing need. One Housing has taken reasonable steps to communicate with Dan and provided much more notice than is normally required.”